Greek Name

Roman Name Jupiter Juno Neptune Pluto Vesta Ceres

Role, Attribute, etc. King of the gods. Domain: sky. Weapon/Attribute: Thunderbolt (looks like streak of lightning), Rules from Mt. Olympus. Sister and wife of Zeus, Queen of the gods, Attribute: Crown and Peacock Brother of Zeus and Hades, god of the sea, horses, earthquakes Attribute: Trident Brother of Zeus and Poseidon, god of the Underworld, Attribute: Cornucopia, Often seen with 3-Headed dog of the Underworld: Cerberus. Kidnapped Persephone and took her as his wife, Queen of the Underworld. Goddess of hearth and home (more important in Rome) Goddess of agriculture, grain, fertility. Attribute: Sheaf of Wheat, Often paired with daughter Persephone Queen of the Underworld. She is the metaphor for the seasons; spends 1/3 of the year with her husband Hades in the underworld, and 2/3 or the year home with her mother. Son of Zeus and Leto. Archer god, concerned with law, poetry, music, Attributes: lyre, spiky halo, bow and arrow, chariot God of wine, revelry and fertility. Attributes: panther skin cape, grapevine wreath on head, cup, accompanied by dancing women. Twin sister of Apollo, an eternally virgin huntress, goddess of moon, hunting and chastity, Attributes: bow and arrow, short skirts, hunting dogs, crescent headdress, chariot Daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and weaving, patron of Athens, protector of civilization, Attributes: owl, spear and helmet and aegis (breastplate with image of Medusa's head) Goddess of love and beauty, a troublemaker. Attributes: nude, often bathing, shell or apple. Often shown with her son Cupid. God of erotic love. Attributes: wings, bow and arrow. Accompanies his mother Aphrodite. Son of Zeus and Maia, divine messenger/ambassador, god of thieves & trickery, Attributes: winged sandals and hat; Caduceus (wand with snakes on it). The god of war; another troublemaker. Attributes: Helmet, armor, spear God of fire, the forge, metallurgy, volcanoes. Attributes: he is lame, holds big hammer. Married to Aphrodite. Father of the Gods, old age. Attributes: hourglass, scythe

Zeus

Hera Poseidon

Hades

Hestia

Demeter

Persephone Persepina (Kore) Apollo/ Apollo Phoebus Bacchus Diana Minerva Venus Cupid Mercury Mars

Dionysus

Artemis (Cynthia) Athena (Pallas)

Aphrodite

Eros

Hermes

Ares

Hephaestus Vulcan Saturn

Kronos

Ancient religion
There was a strong link between myth and religion for Greeks. We have to remember that the Greeks, and to some extent the Romans as well, believed quite passionately in their gods. Greek gods are generally anthropomorphic : that is, they look like humans, they are either male or female, they eat, drink, have sex, and so on. In fact, the whole existence of the Greek gods is modelled on human experience: they enjoy parties and banquets, they have sex with one another (and sometimes with humans), the female gods often wear makeup, they live in houses. So basically, divine existence was conceived of by the Greeks in human terms.

The Greeks believed in many gods (polytheism). These gods are not all-powerful, but have individual domains of power (for example Zeus' domain is the sky, while his brothers Poseidon and Hades rule over the sea and underworld respectively.) Often the domains of individual gods overlap somewhat, and so they struggle among themselves for position and power. The gods that the Greeks believed in did not create the universe. Rather, they are inhabitants of that universe in much the same way that humans are. So even though Zeus is the ultimate ruler of the universe, the most powerful god, he was not the first god, nor the creator of the world. Other gods existed before him, such as Ouranos and Kronos, or Gaia (Earth). (A. Zissos, UTexas)

Background (Theogony & Works and Days)

Hesiods Theogony chronicles the struggles that establish Zeuss supremacy. It explains how the cosmos came into being and of the genealogy and social order of the gods. The conflict between generations is complicated: Uranus, Father Sky, feared the terrible strength of his children by Gaea, 3 Hundred-handed Giants and 3 Cyclopes, so he hurled them deep into Tartarus region (the Underworld). Gaea was outraged, so she used her next children, 13 Titans, to get revenge on Uranus. Cronuss victory is summarized, and afterwards in gratitude, the Cyclopes gave gifts: Zeus got his thunderbolt, Poseidon his trident, and Hades the helmet of invisibility. Then the three male gods drew lots for their kingdoms: Zeus drew the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the Underworld. In Works and Days Hesiod explains the myth about the creation of woman (Pandora), which accounts in part for the existence of suffering. The myth of the five generations traces the decline of the human race from the golden age to the current iron age. Greek/Roman Creation Stories The Greek creation myths evolve from Chaos in the beginning, ending in establishing an orderly place for humans to dwell. They placed great emphasis on the importance of humans. Think of the very human qualities-weaknesses, strengths, emotions, attributes that many of their gods/goddesses possess-Zeus's unfaithfulness, Hera's jealousy, etc. Look closely at the rivalry between fathers and sons and what that implies concerning their socio-cultural values. Pandora is created as punishment to man for Prometheus's caring for humanity over his loyalty to Zeus. The Greeks present women in a negative manner who seem to cause many of the problems in their myths. Much of the western world view comes from the Greeks- the aesthetics, philosophy, democracy, and sociocultural values. The Romans incorporate many of the Greek gods, changing their names, but the story is the same. Ovid, however, takes a different twist, placing more emphasis on the poetics of storytelling. From Ovid we get more of an understanding of the spirit and mood of Rome in his time. Metamorphoses means change-so for him order and reason (valued highly by the Greeks) was less important. Chapter 3

1. Explain what Hesiod meant by Chaos. Be sure to give examples. Look back at Chapter 2 and consider how would the word paratactic fit into your explanation? The creation myth at is believed that the beginning of everything there was Chaos; this does not mean "Disorder" in the contemporary sense, but rather in the sense of a dark or gaping space. Hesiod states that afterwards came Gaia ("Earth") and Eros ("Sexual Love"), which personifies the driving principle behind all subsequent acts of procreation by which the heavens became populated. Gaia was either born of Chaos or simply rising on its own. The Earth surrounded and engulfed Chaos. Hesiod states that they came first-and that the Earth came into being to serve as a solid foundation for the home of gods. Let me tell you how Chaos, the gap came into being. He briefly mentions the space where life is lived by the men and gods: Earth, Olympus, Trtarus, Erebus. He combines and interlaces his scientific explanation with mythological account in which families grow up by sexual reproduction. But then he shifts to an account of the adventures of the gods who arise. By "chaos" Hesiod means the dark which dominated everywhere (or water). From Chaos gives birth to Erebus and Night and then night bare Aether and Day. And Gia (Earth) first gave birth to Uranos (Heaven), then Mountains and Pontus. After laying with Uranos she begat six sons: Oceanus, Coeus, Hyperion, Crius, Iapetus, Cronus (they were called Titans), and six daughters: Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys (called Titanides). According to Hesiod, then, Earth could be said to be the centre of the Universe and the matter by which the other bodies were formed. In other words, the earth is taking recognizable shape, creating the Mediterranean Sea and the important mountains known to Hesiod . With this paratactic story telling Hesiod uses the story to explain how the gap, or Chaos, between heaven and earth arose. His shift from science to storytelling would not seem illogical to his audience, who in any case expected to be entertained, one way or the other, and who would not have been bothered by the paratactic nature of his account.

http://www.igreekmythology.com/creation-myth.html#L1 Afterwards came Gaia ("Earth") and Eros ("Sexual Love"), which personifies the driving principle behind all subsequent acts of procreation by which the cosmos became populated. Gaia was either born of Chaos or simply rising on its own. The Earth surrounded and engulfed Chaos. From where Chaos and Gaia came is neither explained nor elaborated. Hesiod simply states that they came first-and that the Earth came into being to serve as a solid foundation for the home of gods. For Hesiod, Chaos was the first thing to exist

From these first three (Chaos, Gaia and Eros) and the possible addition of Tartarus, a grim and terrifying region below the earth, there originated all that exists. First, came the few beings that were born through parthenogenesis that is the creation resulting from just one gender:

Chaos gave birth to Erebus -the darkness of the Underworld-and Nyx ("Night"). In her sleep, Gaia gave birth to Uranus ("Sky") and Pontus ("Sea"). Uranus came first-and emerged as Gaia's equal.

http://www.igreekmythology.com/creation-myth.html#L1

2. List the important points in Hesoid's Theogony (pp.21-31). Why is there so much violence? What does that imply? In the Theogony, Hesiod incorporates scientific and mythological explanations of the creation of the world. He describes how chaos, Earth, Tartarus, and love are elements that are derived from one another by asexual reproduction. Then moves into explain the scientific aspect of families that grow up by sexual reproduction. In this myth for the creation of the world, the creation of the Earth coincides with a rise in the powers of the ruling gods. Theogony is a synthesis of the Greek traditions and myths in a way that would be most understandable by people. In this early creation-time, the gods are synonymous with the universe (cosmos) and the order of the universe (cosmos). Yet throughout the Theogony, the gods behave in a most disorderly fashion. Hesiod describes how Uranus and Gaia persuaded Zeus to swallow his pregnant wife Metis, who was wiser than gods and humans, so that he would not lose his power to her. A primary focus of the Theogony is divine genealogy. In this creation myth, Eros (love) is the driving force of creation in the universe. Two excerpts from the Works and Days, "Pandora" and "The Ages of Man," confront such universal themes as the presence of evil in the world and the belief that the present is only a distant, pale remnant of an original "golden age." In Works and Days Hesiod explains the myth about the creation of woman (Pandora), which accounts in part for the existence of suffering. The myth of the five generations traces the decline of the human race from the golden age to the current iron age.

Hesiod, shows a clear bias for the eventual winner of the fathers-sons struggle, the male sky-god Zeus, and a bias for the male against the female. In other words, it is probable that

Hesiod slants or distorts parts of some stories in order to make Zeus and the male powers of brute force look good and to make the female powers focused around the natural cycle of birth and death look bad. The Theogony of Hesiod explains the birth and meaning of various important ancient Greek names. After all, the main purpose of the Theogony is the explanation of phenomena, the analysis of the traditions that made the Greeks so different than others and of course the cosmogony. After all, most of the greek words and names used today in many languages to explain certain phenomena, conditions and phobias are first found in the Theogony. When Metis was ready to deliver her child, Hephaestus (or by other accounts Prometheus) split open Zeuss skull and out sprung Athena, in full war gear. As Hesiod describes, at the exact moment of the goddesss birth, the sky was torn and a loud noise echoed across the earth, while enormous waves whipped the sea and the sun stopped moving, until Athena removed her armor. If the Theogony is about anything, it is about birth, the "birth of the gods" which is what the title means. In this early creation-time, the gods are synonymous with the universe (cosmos) and the order of the universe (cosmos). Yet throughout the Theogony, the gods behave in a most disorderly fashion. There are numerous other accounts of the birth of the goddess of wisdom. According to one, she emerged in Crete from a cloud that Zeus struck with his thunderbolt. Two excerpts from the Works and Days, "Pandora and" "The Ages of Man," confront universal themes such as the presence of evil in the world and the belief that the present is only a distant, pale remnant of an original "golden age." In another account, the goddess is considered to be the daughter of Pallas, a winged giant, whom she later killed, when he tried to seduce her. Hesiod's Theogony is a large-scale synthesis of a vast variety of local Greek traditions concerning the gods, organized as a narrative that tells how they came to be and how they established permanent control over the cosmos. It is the first Greek mythical cosmogony. The initial state of the universe is chaos, a dark indefinite void considered as a divine primordial condition from which everything else appeared. Theogony is a part of Greek mythology which embodies the desire to articulate reality as a whole; this universalizing impulse was fundamental for the first later projects of speculative theorizing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theogony

http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Hesiod.htm

If the Theogony is about anything, it is about birth, the "birth of the gods" which is what the title means. In this early creation-time, the gods are synonymous with the universe (cosmos) and the order of the universe (cosmos). Yet throughout the Theogony, the gods behave in a most disorderly fashion. Why is this? There are many interesting answers to this question, but here's a start. The poem presents the creation of the gods and the universe and the consolidation of the gods' power as a struggle between fathers and sons and between male force and female birth. As you read the Theogony, you should be aware that its author, Hesiod, shows a clear bias for the eventual winner of the fathers-sons struggle, the male sky-god Zeus, and a bias for the male against the female. In other words, it is probable that Hesiod slants or distorts parts of some stories in order to make Zeus and the male powers of brute force look good and to make the female powers focused around the natural cycle of birth and death look bad. Cosmos comes from "Chaos," which in Greek simply means "abyss" or "gap." After (from?) this abyss, three more first powers "come into being": Gaia ("Earth"), Tartaros (the dark area under the earth, more fully described later in lines 720-750) and Eros ("desire"-source of our English word "erotic"). At first the first female principle, Gaia the earth, does not need male help to give birth to the rest of her domain, namely the mountains, the sea, and the sky ["without any sexual love" line 132]. It is only after she mates the male Ouranos (sky) that strife (called "Eris"--line 225) and division enter the world. Division, of course, is what usually happens in creation stories--from a start with an undifferentiated lump (or gap or abyss like "Chaos"), the universe begins to divide into more and more beings of increasing variety, diversity, and complexity. Thus, as Karl Kernyi points out, the order of the universe "was established by the unions and separations, the divine marriages and births, constituting a mythical history of the primordial beginnings which, taken as a whole, we call a 'theogony'" (33). As you read, notice the various kinds of "unions," "separations," and births which take place. At the beginning, the important group of gods is the 12 Titans (64-65), plus the Cyclopes, and the Hundred-Handers, early powers born of Gaia and Ouranos: The Theogony of Hesiod (Theogonia of Isiodos in Greek) seems to have been the earliest surviving literary version of the creation of the Earth and the birth of the gods of the Greek pantheon. In this myth for the creation of the world, the creation of the Earth coincides with a rise in the powers of the ruling gods. The Theogony is a synthesis of the Greek traditions and myths in a way that would be most understandable by people. The Theogony of Hesiod explains the birth and meaning of various important ancient Greek names. After all, the main purpose of the Theogony is the explanation of phenomena, the analysis of the traditions that made the Greeks so different than others and of course the cosmogony. After all, most of the greek words and names used today in many

languages to explain certain phenomena, conditions and phobias are first found in the Theogony.
http://www.greek-names.info/ancient-greek-names-in-hesiods-theogony/

3. Discuss briefly Greek generation gap and gender gap. The result of a generational fathers see themselves in rivalary with their children. (father vs. son--birth?) struggle between Kronos(son) and Ouranos(mother), or between Gaia(earth) and Ouranos(heaven). But humans need first sons to inherit and "support" them in old age. The results of the gender gap were the sons allied with their mothers in their efforts to defeat their father. 4. What conclusion do you make concerning Pandora as punishment? Pandora was, according to the myth, the first woman on Earth. She was created by Gods; each one of them gave her a gift, thus, her name in Greek means the one who bears all gifts. Pandora was created as a punishment to mankind; her gifts were beautifully evil, according to Hesiod. Hephaestus created her from clay, shaping her perfectly, Aphrodite gave her femininity and Athena taught her crafts. Hermes was ordered by Zeus to teach her to be deceitful, stubborn and curious. Pandora was given a box or a jar, called pithos in Greek. Gods told her that the box contained special gifts from them but she was not allowed to open the box ever. Pandora was trying to tame her curiosity, but at the end she could not hold herself anymore; she opened the box and all the illnesses and hardships that gods had hidden in the box started coming out. Pandora was scared, because she saw all the evil spirits coming out and tried to close the box as fast as possible, closing Hope inside. According to Hesiod Hope indeed stayed inside because that was Zeus will; he wanted to let people suffer in order to understand that they should not disobey their gods. Pandora was the right person to do it, because she was curious enough, but not malicious. The main purpose of the myth of Pandora though is to address the question of why evil exists in the world. Chapter 4 1. Briefly discuss the four stages of man. Golden Age: The Golden Age was just how it sounded - Golden. There was no crime, no anger, nothing but love and joy and all that good stuff. This was the age that, without coercion, without laws, spontaneously nurtured the good and the true. There was no fear or punishment: there were no threatening words to be read, fixed in bronze, no crowd of suppliants fearing the judge's face: they lived safely without protection. Silver Age: In the Silver Age, Zeus was clearly the ruler and he created the 4 seasons and people stopped living in caves because they discovered building a house can be fun.

Instead of caves, people made wooden houses, and started plowing fields and getting harvests and all that neat stuff- they even domesticated animals to work for them. Bronze Age: Third came the people of the bronze age, with fiercer natures, readier to indulge in savage warfare, but not yet vicious. Iron Age: The harsh iron age was last. Immediately every kind of wickedness erupted into this age of baser natures: truth, shame and honour vanished; in their place were fraud, deceit, and trickery, violence and pernicious desires. They set sails to the wind, though as yet the seamen had poor knowledge of their use, and the ships' keels that once were trees standing amongst high mountains, now leaped through uncharted waves.

1. Explain what Hesiod meant by Chaos. Be sure to give examples. Look back at Chapter 2 and consider how would the word paratactic fit into your explanation ~ Hesiods meaning of chaos refers to the gap or space between heaven and earth. I found this very hard to read and understand what the writer was trying to say therefore I will do my best at trying to interpret the meaning. At first there was a void of darkness, which was the beginning of the world, then came earth (Gaia) and heaven. From there, heaven and Earth was created into new formations such as the sky (Ouranos), Tartaros (darkness are under earth, underworld), mountains, Sea (Pontos), and desires (Eros). Then there was birth of the 12 titans. Examples of chaos and the beginning of time: and night in turn gave birth to Day and Space In the beginning, which came first to be Choas was first to of all, but next appeared broad-bosomed Earth . This story starts out explaining aspects of science to storytelling that has no logical connection to the audience. The story begins at the ends then circles back to beginning, which I cannot understand the logic too? ~ Examples of paratactic storytelling: Quickly she made grey adamant, formed a might sickle, addressed her sons these remind me of fragments put together to have a meaning without a flow or coordinating factor to tie them together, or not logic connection to one another. Another example: In night turn gave birth to day and space, whom she conceived in love to Erebros 2. List the important points in Hesoid's Theogony (pp.21-31). Why is there so much violence? What does that imply?

~ His excerpts were how the world was made by asexual reproduction from elements derived from one another such as chaos, Earth,Tartarus, and love. Then moves into explain the scientific aspect of families that grow up by sexual reproduction. He then shifts to the adventures of the gods whom arise. (Works and Days, Pandora) ~ The creation of civilization in this story was created by violence. This piece represents the creation of the gods and the universe along with the merging of the gods' power as a struggle between fathers and sons and between male force and female birth. I feel that Hesiod show bias against male vs female and also bout Zeus with the father and son struggle. 3. Discuss briefly Greek generation gap and gender gap. ~ Hesiods discussed rivalries between the generations of gods. This means that he see the fathers in rivalry with their sons, and mothers in ally with the sons against their fathers. The tone of this story is set for Greek mythology. The gods withhold the good things from the humans because they are fearless and selfish which is why they are that way with their children as well. The reason for the father son rivalry is that the son replaces and inherits the future of his father therefore they are played against each other so the son can take over his kingdom. The women marry young and are not established outside the home, therefore tend to mature and experience that of their children therefore they side with them against the powerful male figure. 4. What conclusion do you make concerning Pandora as punishment? ~ Pandora seemed to be created to be a punishment to mankind. Maybe if hope was left out of the box, then punishment wouldnt be so harsh. There wouldnt be so much illness and violence against one another. The gods may treat their own better and in turn treat human beings better as well. I think this myth was written explain the weaknesses that humans have and the misfortunes that humans may come upon in life. Pandora represents evil that must be punished in the world, so I guess we see that in real life, just not in the same way. Chapter 4 1. Briefly discuss the four stages of man. ~ Golden Age: There was no law, no crime, and no anger. Men lived without defenders, weapons, and penalties. In this time the titans were in power, spring never ended, and food grew on its own from the earth. People were happy to live in caves and do little work. ~ Silver Age: Zeus took power over the titans. He created four seasons which in turn enabled humans to live in caves. They began building houses (seeking shelter if a house for the first time) and using animals help do their work.

~ Brazen Age: There was no much said on what this age represented other than it was more prone to cruelty, more quick to use fire arms, but yet sacrilegious ~ Iron Age: This age is where people were against each other (husbands and wives), lots of crime and violence, and there was no faith. War would happen and the last Goddess on Earth left and went to heaven. (wow..this sounds like earth today???)